Early Morning Sunshine
by littleursa
Summary: It's KO's first time helping open Gar's Bodega. Is KO up for the task and working that early in the morning? And is he able to handle the surprises?


It was dark at Lakewood Plaza Turbo. The sky was pitch black with numerous dots of light shining down on the moonless and cold early morning. In the vacant parking lot, there were several lights giving both safety and security to anyone who happened to be there at that insane hour. There were only two souls there, both waiting at the front door of Gar's Bodega.

The bigger of the two, a turquoise alien, yawned loudly as he leaned against the windows of the closed convenience store. It seemed like he might be cold with only a blue cat sweater keeping him warm, but he seemed to sleepy to care. Nearby on the sidewalk was a small boy who seemed very eager, despite the early hour. He was excitedly bouncing up and down with a huge smile on his face.

"KO, where is all this energy coming from?" the alien asked as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"How can I not be excited, Rad?" KO replied with a his own question, "I get to help open the bodega for the first time with you and Enid! You know what this means, right?"

"That your blood is made of caffeine?" Rad cracked a small smirk at his own joke.

KO replied, "It means that Mr. Gar thinks that I'm ready for more responsibility, and it means I'm well on my way to becoming a true hero!"

"You'll get there one day, squirt," Rad said as he looked at his phone to check the time. He sighed, his breath visible, "Enid better get here soon or I'm going to take my van to get some breakfast. I think Beardo's food truck is around here somewhere."

Upon hearing Rad's words, KO reached into his hair and pulled out a small bag with what looked like fruit slices. "My mommy packed me some morning snacks for me, wanna share?" the little boy asked with stars in his eyes.

Rad looked at KO and before he could answer, KO had opened the bag and extended his hand with some fruit slices. Rad smiled and took them, "Thanks, kiddo."

KO smiled as the two shared the fruit. A few moments later, a hooded figure was walking across the parking lot, drawing closer towards the shopping center.

"About time you got here, Enid. Do you know how long KO and I have been waiting?" Rad called out as the hooded figure was within earshot.

The hooded figure reached up to their red hood and pulled it down, revealing their purple hair. As Rad had sad, it was Enid and, just as her turquoise co-worker, she was only half-awake. "Lemme guess, all of five minutes?"

"Psshh, more like seven!" Rad complained.

Enid gave a smirk at Rad's comment as she continued up onto the sidewalk. As she passed KO, she lowered a hand and affectionately tuffled his hair with a smile. Once at the door, she reached for her keys and unlocked the metal doors that protected the glass doors of the bodega.

The three co-workers entered the spooky bodega. Enid was the first to go in, heading to the counter in the dark. She seemed to have done this many times before and it didn't phase her. Once at the countertop, she reached down and flipped a switch. Suddenly, all of the overhead lights turned out. Rad, still half asleep, used his floating abilities toward the countertop where Enid was, just as she pulled out a clipboard with a checklist. KO hurried over to see what he was to do.

"The bodega looks so spooky when it's empty like this," KO commented as he made his way over to the counter.

"Eh, I like it. It's nice and calming," she spoke as she put the clipboard on the countertop, "Alright, so it's a normal day, nothing too weird or out of the ordinary for us to do before we open," Enid said, looking over the checklist.

Rad yawned loudly before talking, "So I gotta do the restocking?"

"You know it, dork," she said. She then looked at KO and then back to the list, "Let's see, KO, you cleaned the bodega pretty good last night before we closed, right?" KO simply nodded with a huge smile on his face, "Cool, then you don't have to focus on cleaning right now. How about you….restock the newspapers and comics in the stands? Rad can show you where that stuff is."

KO stood at attention and gave a salute, "Yes, ma'am!"

Enid gave a small chuckle, "Heh….don't call me that."

* * *

In the backroom, was leading KO through the mazes of boxes and shipment that reached high up to the ceiling.

"Whoa, it's even more impressive back here in the morning!" KO commented.

"I guess. It's mostly because we get our shipment super early for newspapers and stuff….which is right here," Rad said as he found the box they were looking for.

KO took the box in question and lifted it above his head. While he seemed to have some issue with it, he started to head back out to the sales floor. Rad used his floating ability to move several boxes behind KO and out to the floor.

As the two made their way back out to the front part of the store, there was a strange sound coming from the counter.

"What is that?! Are we under attack?!" KO was alarmed.

"Nah, that's just Enid playing her music," Rad answered, "though I understand why you might think that."

Enid, who was sat the counter, apparently heard them talking about her, "I can hear you two."

"Just messin' with ya. What are ya blasting this morning?" Rad asked.

"The Synthetic Siblings. Their first album," Enid answered as she counted the techmos on the counter.

KO dropped the crate of newspapers and comics right in front of the counter, "What'cha doing, Enid?"

"Counting the techmos," she answered without looking up or even stopping her head bobbing to the beat, "I have to do this every day before we start the day, take it to the safe, and write it down for Mr. Gar's records."

"Whoa, he trusts you with all that responsibility?" KO was in awe at what she was doing.

"It's not exactly glamourous, but it's my job," Enid said before looking up at KO, "just as your job is to put those newspapers and comics out."

"Oh, right!"

Quickly, KO opened up the crate and started laying out all of the different newspapers in their different locations in the stands. He then took out the comics and started to sort them out in their stands. As much as he wanted to read the newest issue of the Chip Danger comic, he exercised his self-control as best as he could and told himself to wait.

"Yo, KO, you finished up with the comics?" Rad called out.

Just as he heard that, KO turned around and answered, "I just finished up!"

"Cool, can you help me out over here with the snack stand?" KO rushed over to Rad's side, as he continued to speak, "I need ya to take all this garbage to the dumpster out back. I gotta replace the coffee, lighting cheese, and all of this stuff." Rad held up the trash bag that had been filled up the night before.

"Can do, Rad!" KO said as he took the bag from Rad. He hurried toward the front door with the bag in hand.

"Careful out there, KO, it's still pretty dark," Enid warned as she watched him walk out the door.

"It's okay, Enid, I'm the bodega's fourth greatest hero, I can do this!" KO said as he went outside.

KO took the trash around the building. As Enid had warned, the sun still had not risen and the morning sky was still dark and spooky for the small boy. Nevertheless, he still continued with his task to the dumpster. Once there, he threw the bag into the dumpster and started to head back.

As KO walked along the front sidewalk of the bodega, he saw something move across the street. He paused and took a closer look. Across the street and Boxmore Industries, he saw movement of three figures. Not only were they moving, they were crossing the street and making their way to the plaza. It was when they were under one of the parking lot lights that he could make out their identities.

"Oh my goodness! It's Boxman's bots!" KO shouted aloud. He hurried back inside, shouting, "Rad! Enid! We have a problem!"

"What is it, squirt?" Rad asked as he closed the top of the coffee machine, causing it to come to life.

Before KO could answer, the front door of the bodega opened, and in walked three of Boxmore's robots; Darrell, Shannon, and Raymond. KO's face grew pale as he saw the robots enter the store. Enid and Rad, however, didn't seemed phased by this event.

"Oh, hey guys. Three coffees?" Enid asked as she finished up her paperwork.

"Yup yup!" the Darrell robot said with the typical pep in his voice.

"Rad will help ya with them over there," she pointed to Rad who seemed to helping start the robots' order.

"Thanks, girl!" Shannon cheerfully thanked as the three bots made their way through the bodega.

KO watched all this unfold in disbelief. He turned to Enid and could only say what was on his mind, "What's happening? Why are Boxman's bots here?"

"Oh, that. They usually show up here in the morning sometimes to get coffee." Enid answered as she finished up her paperwork.

"But, that doesn't make sense!" KO said loudly.

Enid simply shrugged, "Eh, true, but they aren't too bad." She started to walk over to Rad and the bots, who were having a friendly chat with each other. KO followed behind.

All three of the bots seemed to be happily drinking their beverage and talking with Rad and Enid in a friendly manner. This just puzzled KO even more.

"Wait, I don't get this," he said.

"What don't you get?" the Shannon bot asked before taking a sip of her drink.

KO turned to Rad and Enid, "I thought we fight against these Boxmore robots!"

"We do," Rad said.

KO turned back to the bots, "And I thought Lord Boxman wants to destroy the plaza!"

"That's definitely our father in a nutshell!" the Raymond gave a small chuckle.

"Then why are the robots here in the bodega drinking coffee?" KO raised his voice in puzzlement.

The Darrell bot spoke up, "Actually, I got hot chocolate this morning."

Rad gave an answer to the young hero, "KO, don't think too hard about it."

Enid followed up, "Yeah, they're not that bad once you get to know them. And as Mr. Gar would say, their techmos are as good as anyone else's."

"That's….a very unsatisfying answer…." KO mumbled in a defeated manner.

"Oh, that reminds me, Darrell, when you attack later today, do you think you can avoid hitting any cars when you land?" Rad asked.

"I can try, but steering those things in for a clean landing can be tricky," the Darrell bot explained, "You think you're going to land one way, then BAM! You're in the forest."

The Shannon bot nodded at her brother's statement, "You should have seen it when Raymond was trying to land during his first rain storm. He landed right in the middle of the Neutral Zone, nearly two miles from his target."

"Come now, sister, I have gotten better," the Raymond seemed a little embarrassed at the statement. This didn't stop both the Darrell and Shannon from snickering.

"Well, we better get back before daddy notices we're missing," the Darrell spoke up as he and his siblings started toward the door, "Attack you Lakewood Losers later!"

After exchanging goodbyes with each other, the bots left, leaving the bodega employees alone once again. While Rad and Enid resumed their work, KO was still baffled.

"What just happened?" he asked aloud.

"There's nothing wrong with being polite and friendly with your enemies, KO," Enid said, "Now come on, we have one more thing to do before we open up."

KO followed Enid and Rad up the stairs to the roof of the bodega. They led him to the edge of the roof where the two sat down and looked at the mountains in the distance. There, they sat in silence.

After a few moments of silence, KO spoke up, "I don't get it, what are we doing up here?"

"Enjoying the best part of the job, kid," Rad said.

Before KO ask what he meant, the sky began to change colors. The sky slowly became brighter, morphing from the pitch black to a purple, orange, and red. The light of the sun was beginning to shine more and more to every corner of the Neutral Zone. And as the sun began to rise, the entire population of the Neutral Zone seemed to come to life.

"Killer sunrise, huh?" Rad gave a smirk to KO.

"It's so amazing!" KO mused.

A smile also creeped on Enid's face, "Once in a while, you can even see Neo Riot City from up here. It's times like these I actually like this job."

KO turned toward Enid, "And you guys see this every time you open the bodega?"

"Yeah, it's one of the perks of our work. That, and work is much better with friends like you and meathead over there," Enid added.

The three enjoyed the rising sun for a few more minutes. It wasn't until KO looked down and saw that there was a crowd of people waiting in front of the entrance of the bodega. Both Rad and Enid noticed them but really didn't want to move.

"We should probably let them in before they start banging on the glass again."

END


End file.
